1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to computer terminals at which orders are placed and, more particularly, to computer terminals at the point of sale that are operated directly by customers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The consummation of a sale of a product or service at a point of sale location has traditionally required the investment of time. Even for commodity items such as the menu items served at quick service restaurants, employee time must be spent receiving and entering selections made by customers. Time must also often be spent collecting money and providing change. The costs of such personnel, of course, add to expenses, often reducing profit.
To reduce this overhead, customer-operated point of sale computer systems have been proposed. These systems allow customers to themselves obtain information about products and services and to consummate sales for their purchase.
Unfortunately, many customer-operated, point of sale computer systems have not proven to be successful. They are often difficult to operate and viewed by the customer as unfriendly and a burden or impediment, discouraging the very sales that they were intended to promote. In many of these systems, moreover, it is often difficult to make frequent changes in the products or services that are offered, in their descriptions and in their pricing.